2.3 yr old with constipation

[knat]

My dd's pooing has become v irregular. She always used to go 1 to 3 times a day now she will go 2 days without going and when she does go she only goes a little bit. Tonight she was trying desperately hard to poo not in pain but youcould see she was trying and just resulted ina few "skid marks"! i think it has got worse since she no longer has her morning bottle of milk - maybe she's not drinking enough which has always been a worry andwhy i took so long in stopping the bottle. Any tips on how to get her "moving" again - she doesn't eat fruit really only if i can disguise it inwith something else - what's the best to give her? She also eats a lot of dry foods at the minute like breadsticks, crackers and at the mo likes her cereal dry with no milk!!!

well she definetly needs more liquids and fibre in her diet. fruits and vegetables as well (apart from bananas). will she eat weetabix? prune juice is a good one to get things moving. if all else fails she'll probably need lactulose (my dd has been on this since she was 6 months old but she also has a lot more health problems). my dd is also on glycerine supposeteries to soften it up from the bottom end but i doubt you'll need this. you can get lactulose from chemists without a perscription but it's probably best to get it on perscription for long term use. lactulose is high is sugar (no sugar free version) and acts like fibre. our dietician says it can only work properly if dd drinks a lot of liquids as well. hth.

also you're probably aware of all this but take her the shops and get her to choose a favourite cup/beaker and juices she likes. have you tried fancy straws to make it more fun? also leave her cup where she can get it easily to get drinks when she wants. the dry foods are also not very good if she isn't drinking much to go with them. also things like yoghurts and soups are a way of getting liquids in whilst eating.

yes - straws don't work - not interested nor in any sort of cartoon type cups etc. I leave her drink where she's playing all the time but usually ahve to remind her to have a drink. She will have yog (used to live on it!) and occasionally soups but at themoment it's hard giving her anything that's not finger food as she prefers that although i have found it depends what finger food you offer ! She does eat veg its the fruit i have difficulty with. She always had weetabix or porridge for breakfast but now won't eat it -(because it's ona spoon) i do offer it now and again in case she's willing - i expect it's just a phase. Anyway today she has had quite a few poos and the last one or two didn't seem to cause her any difficulty so maybe the problem is over (for nwo!)

Knat how did u disguise the fruit for your dd to eat it.. had simular probs with my dd cant get her to eat fruit other than bananas which i've heard not good with consipation

Knat how did u disguise the fruit for your dd to eat it.. had simular probs with my dd cant get her to eat fruit other than bananas which i've heard not good with consipation

i chop it up really small and put it in with ice cream!!! Doesn't work withyoghurt - she's wise to that - the only other way is to puree it and put it in with yoghurt or custard. I find i can disguise most things with ice cream - i know it's a trade off but there you go!

Thanx i'll give it a go

Good way to increase fluid intake is to try jelly. If you make your own with fruit juice and gelatine there's not too much sugar in it. You can also put soft fruit like raspberries in it. Works for my dd.

Best way to get fruit into her is to juice it. Maybe if you have or get a juicer like we've got where you push the fruit down through the top and it makes a loud noise she could even participate in the preparation. My ds loves watching me peel the carrots and chop the fruit, he holds onto them in his chair until I need them, and I mix it with a bit of water and he loves it. Now he makes the juicer noise if he wants a fresh juice!
Juicer might cost a bit at first but it's worth the investment. (Think ours is a Moulinex)

i'd love to do that sassy but she's not a big drinker fullstop. Only has water at moment and i've tried strawberry milk in her beaker and she has a couple of sips but nto keen it's as if its something different in her cup she drinks even less!! I wish i could find a cup she would drink more out of - i've tried one with a straw but she doesn't use that!

Hmm, I found one with a turtle inside the transparent cup and when they drink they gradually reveal the turtle. My ds loves it. Unfortunately I live in Spain so I'm not sure you can get an identical one there but some other novelty cup might work - you could even take her on a special shopping trip to choose it. A long shot maybe but perhaps worth a go.